The present invention relates to gaming systems. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods for determining a gaming system event parameter based on a player-established event parameter.
Many people enjoy the entertainment provided by various types of gaming systems. For example, many people enjoy playing xe2x80x9cscratch-offxe2x80x9d style instant lottery games. In this type of game, a player purchases a paper game ticket for a fixed price (e.g., each game ticket may represent a one dollar wager). The player uncovers a portion of the game ticket, such as by scratching off a coating of latex, to reveal one or more symbols (e.g., revealing three symbols each representing a potential payout amount). Based on the revealed symbols, the player is able to determine a payout amount, if any, associated with the game ticket. One reason players enjoy this type of game is the participation the game provides, such as the participation provided by uncovering portions of the game ticket. Players also enjoy the instant gratification provided by such games. That is, players do not need to wait for a nightly lottery drawing, such as a selection of winning lottery numbers, to determine if they have won. Another reason is that players can purchase a number of game tickets and play the game at their convenience.
Conventional instant lottery games, however, have a number of disadvantages. For example, it is expensive to produce the paper game tickets with appropriate symbols and latex coatings. Although different game formats may be made available to players (e.g., xe2x80x9cwin ten thousand dollars if a xe2x80x98yesxe2x80x99 is revealed when you scratch off this areaxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cmatch three numbers on this game ticket to win that dollar amountxe2x80x9d), only a limited number of game formats can be printed and distributed to merchants because of the cost associated with producing and distributing game tickets.
Another disadvantage associated with conventional instant lottery systems is that the level of participation that can be provided to a player is limited. For example, a player""s participation may be limited to scratching off certain areas on a game ticket. In addition, the gratification that can be provided to a player is limited. For example, a player with five dollars may only be able to purchase and play five game tickets.
These limitations may reduce a player""s interest in the game, resulting in fewer games being sold.
To overcome some of these disadvantages, U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,398 discloses an off-line remote lottery system which enables a player to purchase instant-type lottery game outcomes from a central computer. The player views the outcomes on a remotely located gaming computer, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
These lottery systems would be further enhanced by an improved gaming system as described herein.
To alleviate problems inherent in the prior art, the present invention introduces systems and methods for determining a gaming system event parameter based on a player-established event parameter.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a total wager amount, a total number of events, and an event wager amount associated with each of the total number of events are determined. Each of the total number of events is associated with an event result to be indicated to a player. According to one embodiment, the total number of events is greater than one.
In another embodiment, a player-established event parameter is received from a player. The player-established event parameter may comprise: (i) a total wager amount, (ii) a total number of events, or (iii) an event wager amount associated with each of the total number of events. Based on the player-established event parameter, at least one other of (i) the total wager amount, (ii) the total number of events, and (iii) the event wager amount are determined.
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises: means for determining a total wager amount; means for determining a total number of events; and means for determining an event wager amount associated with each of the total number of events, wherein each of the total number of events is associated with an event result to be indicated to a player.
Another embodiment comprises: means for receiving from a player an indication associated with a player-established event parameter, the player-established event parameter comprising one of: (i) a total wager amount, (ii) a total number of events, and (iii) an event wager amount associated with each of the total number of events; and means for determining, based on the player-established event parameter, at least one other of: (i) the total wager amount, (ii) the total number of events, and (iii) the event wager amount.
With these and other advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims and the several drawings attached herein.